Friday, November 29, 2013

Several months ago I gave a workshop on how to take better pictures with the camera you have. (You don't necessarily need to go out & buy a better camera to improve your photos!) I thought it would be something worth sharing here, so I'm going to share it in parts. Each Friday I'll share another part. If you have any photography-related questions that you'd like to see me answer, feel free to leave them in the comments (or e-mail me). Perhaps I could do a post on a subject you're curious about.

Tip #5: Focus & Zoom

1. If your camera doesn’t decide the focus for you, you will generally want to focus on the subject’s eyes.

2. Get Close! Your photos don’t have to include your child’s whole body! You can get in closer- get a photo of their face, and you don’t have to stop there- don’t be afraid to cut off the top of their head, their ears, or their chin and get a REALLY close shot! Try getting detail shots- we love our kids’ chubby hands, cute bed head, and other details- go ahead and capture them so you can always remember them! Zoom in on their funny clothing choices, or their little legs in those cute rain boots. Ask yourself what is so cute about them in this moment and then focus on that part of them!

Take some time this week to pull out the camera while your kids are playing. Take a moment & ask yourself what part of them is most cute at that moment. Then zoom right in and try capturing it without the rest of the surrounding scene. See what details you can capture!

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Share the photos you're taking with the tips in this series on Instagram, using the hashtag #RaisingMemories

Each Friday I'll share another photography tip. If you have any photography-related questions that you'd like to see me answer, feel free to leave them in the comments- perhaps I could do a future post on a subject you're curious about.

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Thursday, November 28, 2013

Deseret Book sent me a new book they've published called Christmas from Heaven. This is the true story of a young air pilot assigned to fly in much-needed supplies into a Soviet-blockaded Berlin. He has the idea to deliver candy to the children and "bombs" them with little parachutes carrying candy. The book comes with an incredibly touching DVD. The author of the book, Tom Brokaw, reads the story while the Tabernacle Choir adds music, we see images from the book, and children act out the story. We even get to meet the candy bomber himself, Colonel Gail S. Halvorsen.

The book comes with instructions on how to make a candy parachute from tissue paper, string, and tape.
Of course we had to give that a try! We still have lots of Halloween Candy around the house to try them out with. ;)

It turned out that the girls grabbed a mini granola bar & used that! They played with the parachute on their own for a LONG time- until it fell apart beyond repair ;) Then they asked if they could split the little granola bar (I said Yes! ;)

What a great true story with an important lesson. I love the DVD that comes with the book and making the craft was so much fun! I really enjoyed this one!

Disclosure: I received this book/DVD from Deseret Book for review purposes. No other compensation was received and all opinions & experiences shared here are my own!

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

The last week has been such a whirlwind! Ken & I went on a week-long trip to Mexico for our 10th anniversary (which is tomorrow) and returned last Wednesday (I'll share photos from our trip later). We got busy adjusting to normal life again and soon after, I heard that my aunt's mother died, so I headed home for a couple of days for the funeral and other gatherings. I returned home Monday evening to rearranged furniture, Christmas music playing, and two eager little girls all ready to set up our tree!

It is tradition to set up the tree near the end of November and decorate it with pink bows in honour of Katrina's birthday in early December. When her birthday has passed, we take the bows down and put up the Christmas ornaments. This year I was excited to add some new ornaments with the pink bows. We had been sent these Biblical Names of Christ Ornaments from Deseret Book and I thought it would be a great family night activity to look up the scriptures that go with each name/ornament and hang them.

On the bottom of the box that they come in, there is a list of the names of Christ that are on each ornament, with a scripture reference for each. The girls took turns reading the scriptures (Talia by herself, and Katrina with help).

...and hanging the ornaments on the tree.

I'm really happy with this new tradition we've started- it's a great way to focus on the most important reason for Christmas, and I think that's my most important job as a mom at Christmastime- to help them to know what the real reason for Christmas is. They will get lots of the Santa side of Christmas (from others and from me), but I have to make a focused effort to spend as much time as I can with them, focusing on Christ, teaching them about Him and helping them to develop their own testimonies of Him and what He did for us.

Disclosure: These ornaments were provided to me by Deseret Book for review purposes. I was not compensated in any other way for this post. As always, the opinions shared here are 100% my own!

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Now, onto the November Link Party! I cannot wait to see a bunch of Christmas Ideas! :)

(I know something's up with the code for the button for sharing time- I'm not sure why it's not showing up. Feel free to link up even if you can't get the button code. It would be great if you'd just put a text link to my blog in your post, to say that you're linking up!)

I have had sensitive teeth for quite a while now- the pain in my teeth caused by cold foods is unbelievable! I have been using toothpaste for sensitive teeth for quite a while now, and so has my husband and my oldest daughter. It has made my sensitivity more bearable, but there is no way you'll see me biting a popsicle or eating ice cream without my lips shielding my teeth. So we were all excited when we got the opportunity to take the Colgate Sensitive Pro-Relief Challenge!

The first thing Talia noticed when she tried the toothpaste was that it was not as "minty" as the toothpaste we had been using (she loved that because she hates the extreme minty taste a lot of toothpastes have). I, on the other hand, love that minty feeling! I was surprised when Ken mentioned that it wasn't as minty as our previous toothpaste because I found it quite refreshing! (I have tried toothpastes that are less minty and leave me longing for that minty fresh feeling- this wasn't one of those- my mouth still felt very fresh).

I've only been using the toothpaste for a few days, but it's definitely working at least as well as my previous toothpaste for sensitivity. It's formulated to shield and even repair sensitive teeth with regular use. I'm kinda bummed that I don't have any popsicles or ice cream in the house to test this new toothpaste out on- I am told that you can massage it on your tooth for one minute and notice a difference right away- how cool is that?! Most other sensitivity toothpastes contain potassium nitrate, which primarily numbs the tooth nerve, masking the pain of tooth sensitivity, and will take 2 weeks of use before relief is delivered. Colgate Sensitive Pro-Relief toothpaste works by plugging the channels that lead to the sensitive tooth nerves, to block the pain.

So, who wants to join the Colgate Sensitive Pro-Relief Challenge with me?

You can sign up for a free sample of CSPR toothpaste and try rubbing the toothpaste directly on a sensitive tooth with your fingertip and gently massage for 1 minute
Then eat or drink something that triggers your tooth sensitivity, and discover the instant relief and freshness of Colgate Sensitive Pro-Relief!

You can also review the toothpaste online for a chance to win one (1) NESPRESSO® U Pure Orange coffee machine and one (1) gift basket containing a 1 year supply of Colgate Sensitive Pro-Relief products!

When you sign up to take the challenge you will receive:
• 1 trial size tube (22 mL) of Colgate Sensitive Pro-Relief toothpaste
• 1 coupon for $1 off a Colgate Sensitive Pro-Relief toothpaste

Disclosure: I am part of the Colgate Sensitive Pro-Relief Blogger Campaign with Mom Central Canada and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

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